While economists predicted a strong Black Friday shopping day, it’s likely the malls were a little less crowded in California, thanks to the unprecedented move by a San Francisco nonprofit agency dedicated to saving redwood trees.

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The Save the Redwoods League offered for the first time free passes to 49 state parks in California. By Friday, all the parks had run out of the freebies, after 5,100 people downloaded the passes since Nov. 18, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Benito.

“We were completely overwhelmed,” Benito said, who forgot to download a pass herself, but was happy to pay a park entrance fee as she too, planned to go hiking with her family. “We’re excited about the enthusiasm.”

There was no way to immediately know how many visitors showed up at all the state parks on Friday, including those who paid the entrance fees.

Still, there was a buzz surrounding the #OptOutside movement.

Mike Kahn, a spokesman for the Sempervirens Fund in Los Altos, which focuses on protecting land in the Santa Cruz Mountains, was off hiking at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton on Friday. He was proud to be out “supporting the movement and opportunity to connect with nature and family and friends. What a better way to walk off holiday meal?”.

Save the Redwoods had long wanted to offer such a deal, but was motivated to put it into action after REI announced in October the company would pay employees across the United States to take the day off and go outdoors on what is billed as one of the biggest shopping days of the years. An anonymous donation of $50,000 enabled the nonprofit to pay for the free passes, so that the state park system didn't suffer any financial losses, Benito said.

Benito and her family were ready to head out to Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz or Portola State Park in La Honda to scope out sites to possibly dedicate to her husband’s grandparents.

Benito has never been a Black Friday shopper. “We go outside every year,” she said, adding there’s no way she would step into a mall on the day after Thanksgiving. “I just can’t do it Those lines. That’s not how I want to spend my time.”